baseballfandomcom-20200222-history
October 2
*1908 - Addie Joss of the Cleveland Naps tosses a perfect game against the Chicago White Sox. The future Hall of Famer wins a 1–0 decision over Ed Walsh in one of the greatest pitching duels in major league history. Joss strikes out only three batters, while Walsh fans 15. *1919 - The Chicago White Sox lose the second game of the World Series, 4–2, to the Cincinnati Reds. Lefty Williams, one of eight Sox players involved in a Series-fixing scandal, walks three men in the fourth inning. After the game, he is confronted and attacked by Sox catcher Ray Schalk. *1920 - The Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds play the only tripleheader of the XX century. The Reds win the first two games before losing the third game, a six-inning affair shortened due to darkness. *1949 - The New York Yankees win the American League pennant by defeating the Boston Red Sox, 5–3. Jerry Coleman’s three-run triple provides the winning margin, while Ted Williams falls short of both the batting title and the Triple Crown. *1963 - Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers sets a World Series record by striking out 15 batters in Game One against the New York Yankees. The Dodgers win the game, 5–2, behind Koufax’ six-hit pitching. *1966 - Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers wins his 27th game of the season and the final game of his career. Koufax’ 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies clinches the National League pennant for the Dodgers. *1968 - In one of the most memorable World Series performances ever, Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals strikes out 17 Detroit Tigers. Gibson sets a World Series record for most strikeouts in a single game and leads the Cardinals to a 4–0 victory over Tigers ace and Cy Young Award winner Denny McLain. *1974 - Future Hall of Famer Al Kaline announces his retirement. During a 22-year career with the Detroit Tigers, Kaline compiled 3,007 hits and 399 home runs. He also batted .379 in the 1968 World Series. *1978 - Bucky Dent’s unlikely home run helps the New York Yankees defeat the Boston Red Sox in a dramatic one-game playoff at Fenway Park. Trailing by two runs in the sixth inning, Dent smacks a three-run shot against pitcher Mike Torrez into the screen above the Green Monster. The Yankees hold on for a 5–4 victory en route to face the Dodgers in the World Series. *2004: ** The Montreal Expos earn their last win in the franchise's history, defeating the New York Mets 6–3. Brad Wilkerson hit the Expos final home run in the ninth inning, his 32nd of that year. ** The Toronto Blue Jays announced the dismissals of pitching coach Gil Patterson and first-base coach Joe Breeden, effective at the end of the season. Births *1869 - Scott Starton, pitcher (d. 1939) *1920 - Spec Shea, All-Star pitcher (d. 2002) *1932 - Maury Wills, All-Star infielder *1934 - Earl Wilson, pitcher (d. 2005) *1970 - Eddie Guardado, All-Star pitcher *1973 - Scott Schoeneweis, pitcher *1976 - Víctor Santos, pitcher Deaths *1918 - George McManus, manager (b. 1846) *1931 - George Bradley, pitcher (b 1852) *1949 - Frank Schulte, MVP outfielder (b. 1882) *1963 - Cy Perkins, catcher (b. 1896) *1966 - Jumbo Brown, pitcher (b. 1907) *2005 - Pat Kelly, All-Star outfielder (b. 1944)